Eyes Of Violence

This...darkness…

This...violence…

No.

It cannot be.

It should be sealed away!

Kyle scooped up his sleeping Eevee into his arms. Fireball stayed in between him and the four members of Team Dominion, standing in a protective stance.

"Get out of here," Kyle growled. "All of you. Go."

Petal Dance returned his Venusaur to its Dominance ball, his anger and frustration at his loss apparent. He shoved his Dominance ball back into his pocket.

"It doesn't matter," Petal Dance said. "I'm making a post about you. You're going to get kicked from Team Dominion."

Kyle gritted his teeth. They had won the battle, but there was nothing he could do about Petal Dance reporting him.

"I could beat him down, if you wanted," Jordan said quietly as he stepped over to Kyle. "Give him an incentive to keep his mouth shut."

Kyle shook his head. "It's not like it would do much. It would only cause problems for us."

"All right, sure," Jordan said reluctantly.

Kyle and Jordan both turned at the sound of a whining girl. The one who hadn't been a part of the battle was tugging on Petal Dance's coat sleeve.

"Come on!" She pouted. "You promised me you'd get that Eevee for me!"

"Forget it, Megan!" Petal Dance said, tearing his arm out of her grasp. "Come on, let's go. We lost. That's the end of it."

"Well, can you at least promise to find me one tomorrow?" Megan asked.

"If you promise to shut up!"

With that, the four members of Team Dominion left in silence. Carol stepped up beside Kyle and Jordan.

"Man, that girl was creeping me out that whole time with her face," she said. "She seems annoying as hell. He was probably just trying to catch a Pokemon for her so she'd get off his back."

"Doesn't really matter to me what his motive is or was," Kyle said. "If he wants to steal someone else's Pokemon, he'd better be expecting a fight."

Jordan raised his eyebrows. "Someone's talking tough. Did you forget that you would've lost if not for us?"

"He's got a point," Carol said putting a finger to Kyle's chest. "You kinda owe us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kyle said, looking away. They're right. Eve would be their's if it wasn't for both of them. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Carol smiled. "Of course."

In that moment, Kyle forgot about everything Carol had said or done in response to Kyle's plan to Team Dominion. Her smile wiped those memories from his mind. All he could think about was her face.

Damn, she's pretty.

"Hey, guys?" Jordan said, grabbing their attention.

Kyle and Carol both turned. "What?" They asked in unison. Jordan was looking at Adrien, who Kyle and Carol were noticing for the first time since the battle was over.

What the-

He hadn't moved at all since he had returned his Pikachu to its Poke ball. He was still kneeling on the ground. He was knee was placed on a pile of snow that was soaking its way into the front of his jeans. His arm was still in front of him, Poke ball in hand. His expression was completely blank. It seemed eerie to Kyle.

"Hey, are you alright, Adrien?" he asked.

I lost.

I really lost.

I failed.

"Has he ever been like this before?" Carol asked Jordan.

Jordan shrugged. "I've definitely never seen him act like this. You guys?"

Kyle shook his head. "No. This is new for me, too." He waved his hand in front of Adrien's face. "Hello? Adrien?"

He beat me.

I couldn't do anything.

Anything at all.

"Maybe he's just upset that his Pikachu was defeated," Jordan offered.

"That's right," Kyle said. "This would be the first time he's ever lost a match."

"But he didn't lose," Carol insisted. "We won, didn't we? We prevented them from taking Kyle's Eevee."

"I'd say it's based on perspective," Jordan said. "I definitely think that this counts as a loss for him. Venusaur definitely beat his Pikachu."

You lost.

"Still, don't you think he's overreacting a bit?" Kyle asked. He put a hand on Adrien's shoulder and shook him a little. "Hey, c'mon."

You lost.

You lost.

YOU LOST.

"Woah," Kyle said. He put a hand to his head as it began to throb.

"What is it?" Carol asked.

"Only a little headache," Kyle said. "It just hit me suddenly, that's all."

Jordan pointed to the back of Adrien's neck. "Do you see that? He's sweating like crazy."

Kyle looked where Jordan was indicating and found that he wasn't wrong. Adrien's neck was practically drenched in sweat. Not only that, but Kyle also noticed that Adrien's hands and arms were trembling. In fact, he also noticed that his friend's entire body was shaking, rather than being still as Kyle was used to.

"Uh, guys?" Carol asked. Both boys turned towards her. While the two of them were facing Adrien's side, she was in front of him, crouched down so she could examine his face.

"Look at his eyes," she said.

I SWORE NEVER TO LOSE AGAIN.

NEVER.

Kyle winced again from his headache and slowly moved to where Carol was standing. He crouched so he could get a good look at Adrien's face. He was nervous at what he would find. He had every reason to be. Adrien's irises were normally blue.

However, the irises Kyle was looking at were dark red.

NOT TO IT OR ANYONE ELSE.

I SWORE.

I CAN'T LOSE NOW.

Adrien's glazed-over eyes moved suddenly. They pointed themselves at Kyle, who jumped back a little in surprise. Carol backed away as well, but Jordan stayed where he was.

Adrien straightened and moved his eyes off of Kyle. He was now looking at something in the distance behind Kyle. Kyle turned to follow his gaze and saw Petal Dance and his friends still walking away. He turned back to Adrien, who was moving his mouth. Kyle narrowed his eyes, confused.

It struck Kyle that Adrien was muttering something under his breath. He listened, trying to make out the words.

KILL HIM, KILL HIM.

IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN WIN, NOW.

"Kill him, kill him."

Kyle's eyes widened as soon as he heard what Adrien was whispering.

"Hey, Adrien," Kyle said. When Adrien didn't turn to face him, he continued on anyway. "This isn't funny. Cut it out. You lost. Just deal with it."

Adrien didn't seem to hear him. He was too focused on Petal Dance. Then he smiled, and that was when Kyle knew he'd never seen anything more unsettling in his life. His smile wasn't the type you'd see on a sane person's face. It was creepy and discomforting.

"Kill, kill…"

Adrien took a step forward. That was when Jordan took hold of his arm, stopping him. Adrien didn't take any notice at all. He simply tried to keep walking while Jordan tried to hold him in place.

"Kill, kill…"

Jordan was straining as Adrien pulled harder and harder. He was required to plant his feet into the ground as well as to wrap his other arm around Adrien's abdomen.

"Are you guys just going to keep standing there, or are you going to help?" Jordan asked. "In case you didn't notice, I'm struggling here!"

"Right," Kyle said, snapping out of his stupor. He rushed over and grabbed Adrien's left arm while Carol took hold of his right arm, the one that was still holding onto the Poke ball. Jordan used both of his arms to hold Adrien back by the midsection. The three of them strained to hold their friend back.

He's actually able to keep moving forward, Kyle noticed. How strong is he? I didn't take him for someone who had this much muscle.

Adrien began to increase his effort in escaping the grasp of his three friends. He had begun to flail his arms as much as Kyle and Carol's grips allowed. He was also kicking behind him at Jordan's legs. He was shouting.

"Kill! Kill!"

Adrien suddenly caught Carol unaware and yanked his arm out of her grip. He used his now freed arm to hit her across the face with the Poke ball in his hand, knocking her to the ground.

"Carol!" Kyle shouted. Then his headache began to hurt more. He tried to keep his hold on Adrien while pressing his other hand against his head. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

Adrien raised his arm into the air before throwing the Poke ball out in front of him. The ball bounced once against the ground and popped open. Chu materialized in the space directly in front of the capsule.

"Go!" Adrien shouted. "Kill him! Kill him!"

Adrien's Pokemon had nearly faded into unconsciousness by the time it had been returned to its Poke ball earlier, but now it looked as if it had received a full night of rest in the two minutes it had been inside its container.

Chu didn't turn around to look at its trainer. It didn't seem to notice anything wrong with the order it had been given. It didn't seem to remember that Pokemon aren't proficient in killing humans. It didn't hesitate for even a second. It began sprinting towards Petal Dance and his group.

His Pokemon's gone insane, too? Kyle thought. Or is it just that loyal?

"Do something, Kyle!" Jordan said. "I can hold him for a little while!"

"Right!" Kyle said. Working on instinct, he reached into his pocket and brought out Eve's Dominance ball. He threw it towards the running Pikachu. The ball made it about seventy feet before hitting the ground and opening.

Wait! Kyle thought, panicking. Is it still asleep?

It seemed that Kyle's worries held little relevance. Eve was wide awake when it materialized on the ground. Kyle let out a small sigh of relief, though he knew his troubles were hardly over.

"Eve! I need you to use Judgment on Chu! Quickly!"

There was no way Eve was going to catch up to Chu, who was the fastest Pokemon Kyle knew, with their difference in speed. The only move Kyle could hope would have some effect would be Judgment.

Like Chu, Eve didn't react to the strange command. Beams of light shot from Eve towards Chu, moving slightly faster than the electric type. They caught up momentarily and struck the Pikachu. It didn't even try to dodge for some reason. It simply took the hit and was knocked aside by the impact.

Chu then did something Kyle didn't expect: it rose back to its feet.

It should be unconscious from that hit after all the damage it took from Venusaur! Kyle thought. What is this?

"Hit it again, Eve!" Kyle shouted. Eve obliged, and Chu was hit again and again, but the hits only seemed to be slowing it down. Kyle turned back to Jordan. "Something's wrong!" He exclaimed. "It shouldn't be able to tank this many hits without fainting!"

Jordan grimaced. "Tell it to stop, Adrien."

Adrien didn't respond. He only kept his eyes focused forward on his Pokemon and Petal Dance's back.

"Adrien!" Jordan shouted in his friend's ear. "Stop this! It's gone far enough! Tell your Pikachu to come back!"

Adrien again refused to respond. This time, instead of shouting again, Jordan moved his arms from Adrien's torso and instead placed them around his neck in a choke hold. Adrien's chin was pressed against Jordan's inner elbow. They struggled for a bit, at one point, Jordan almost lost his balance and fell, but he eventually caused Adrien to pass out.

"What are you doing?" Carol demanded, holding a hand to where Adrien had hit her on the face. "Why would you just sock him like that in the middle of the park? People are watching, you know!"

Kyle looked around. Sure enough, they were attracting the attention of a few groups scattered around the park. They hadn't been very interested in the Pokemon battle, but it seemed like they were interested now. Figures. It seems like we've put on a few shows for them in the past week or so.

Jordan was breathing hard. He ignored Carol's question as he stood and turned towards where Pikachu had run off to. "Son of a bitch," he said as he plopped down into a sitting position. "Your Eevee did it."

Kyle and Carol both turned and saw that Chu was no longer running. Instead, it was lying on the ground, unmoving. Eve was standing next to it and prodding it with one of its front legs. It looked concerned for its friend's condition.

"That's a bit of a relief," Kyle commented. Then he noticed something. Hey. He put a hand on his forehead. My headache is gone.

"I'm confused," Carol said. "Why were you guys worried about that? It's not like a Pokemon could actually kill someone."

There was a pause. Then Kyle said, "I'm not quite sure. It's like I knew that it couldn't do anything, but it really felt like it could."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Jordan said. "With all that was going on, I was convinced that Adrien's Pikachu was going to kill someone." He shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to play it safe."

The three were silent for a time as they all sat down to recover from what just happened.

"He isn't waking up," Jordan said.

"Is that normal?" Kyle asked.

Jordan shook his head sideways. "No. He should've regained consciousness after a couple seconds." He put a finger up to Adrien's neck. "He's still alive, at least."

"You weren't sure that you hadn't killed him?" Carol asked incredulously.

"I was a bit stressed out," Jordan said. "I could've held the choke longer than intended."

"We should probably just leave," Kyle said. "We can just carry him until he wakes up."

Jordan tried to lift Adrien's limp body. Kyle went over to help get the unconscious boy on Jordan's back. Jordan leaned over to balance his friend on his back and started walking. Kyle took Adrien's Poke ball and went over to return both Eve and Chu. When he was done, he joined back up with Carol and Jordan.

Many minutes passed without anyone speaking. They left the park and began walking down the streets of the neighborhood with no particular destination in mind.

"So," Carol said, "Are we going to talk about him going insane?"

Kyle turned to Jordan. "Are you sure he hasn't acted anything like that before? Nothing at all comes to mind?"

Jordan shook his head. "No. Adrien's never really been the violent type, either. He's pretty against it, actually. Between humans, anyway. That whole encounter was completely surprising to me."

"He has a bit of a head case though, doesn't he?" Carol asked slowly.

Jordan raised his eyebrows. "What makes you think that?"

"Well," Carol said, considering. "I guess it's just a feeling."

Jordan sighed. "Yeah, he's a bit messed up in the head sometimes. But not in the way that you're thinking," he assured. "He's not going to snap and become some psychopathic killer."

"Really?" Kyle asked. "Because it seems like that's exactly what he was doing."

"It was something different," Jordan insisted.

"How do you know?"

"Because his eyes freaking changed color," Jordan said.

Kyle paused. He had forgotten about that. Changing eye color didn't definitely wasn't something normal, much less a symptom of snapping into insanity.

"I have absolutely no idea what that was," Jordan said. "I don't really feel like thinking about it right now, either. I'm sure he'll be back to normal by the time he wakes up."

Kyle obliged, deciding not to say anything else about the matter, even though he wanted to say a lot more.

"Another thing," Carol said. "If he doesn't remember anything, should we tell him about it?"

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, I mean, it might trigger something," Carol said. "I don't know."

"It'll probably be easier on his conscious if we kept it from him, too," Jordan said. "I'm with Carol. We shouldn't tell him if he doesn't remember."

"Hey, I never said we shouldn't tell him," Carol said defensively. "I just asked the question."

Jordan raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying we should tell him, then?"

Carol sighed and looked away. "No," she said after a moment. "We shouldn't tell him."

Jordan nodded and turned to Kyle. "What about you?"

It seemed to Kyle that Adrien should know the full story of what happened, but it was two against one, and both of them had provided some fair points.

"I guess we won't be telling him anything," Kyle said.

"Alright, cool," Jordan said. "Now all we need is a place where he can lie down and rest. If he's staying asleep this long, he'll probably be out for a while."

"We can take him to my house," Kyle offered. "I can show you how our Pokemon are going to get stronger for our invasion of Team Dominion."

"Oh my lord," Carol said. "You guys still want to do that? Aren't you getting shut down in a way by Petal Dance?"

Kyle and Jordan both turned to face Carol.

"I mean, we can still hope for the best," Kyle said.

"We'll find a way," Jordan said.

Carol sighed.

"Speaking of which," Jordan said, "We never got an answer from you. Are you joining us or not?"

Carol made eye contact with Kyle while he studied her face. He could tell she wanted to say no.

"Here, just let me show you what I have," Kyle said. "Then you can decide whether or not you want to help us. Sound fair?"

Carol sighed again. "Alright, sure."

Jordan turned to Kyle. "So, where's your house?"

The three of them in Kyle's living room around a half-hour later. Adrien took up half of the only couch while he slept. Carol had removed his jacket and shoes while Kyle had placed one of the blankets in his house over him.

Kyle went upstairs to his room and grabbed the package he had received a few days prior. He had kept it in a drawer in his desk along with the leaf note. He took the bundle downstairs to his friends.

When he came back to the living room, Carol was sitting on the rest of the couch while Jordan was laying back on the floor rug. Both of their Pokemon were out of their balls and were sleeping next to their respective trainers. Carol was treating hers with an antidote Kyle had offered her.

Jordan looked up as Kyle walked into the room. "Alright then," he said, sitting up. "What are these supplies you were talking about?"

Kyle placed a plastic bag on the floor in front of Jordan. He had placed the candies into two bags as soon as he had received them. One of them contained the white ones, while the other contained the dark gray ones. Kyle held the other bag in one of his hands.

Jordan and Carol both leaned forward to look at what Kyle was presenting to them. Jordan picked up the bag and glanced at the candies. "What are these supposed to be?" He asked.

Kyle smiled. "I want you to examine them closely, first," he said. "But don't open the bag."

"Okay…" Jordan said as he turned his attention back to the candies. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Hey," he said. "Something's moving in there."

"What?" Carol asked curiously. "Really?" She held out her hand. Jordan looked at the candies for a few more moments before handing the bag to her.

"You're right," Carol said, surprised. She looked at Kyle and held up the bag. "What are these?"

Kyle held out the leaf note. "Here," he said. "Read this. It explains."

Carol took the note and Jordan stood up to read over her shoulder. The first thing both of them said was about how the letters were glowing.

"I was weirded out by that also," Kyle said when they asked him about it. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Silence fell as Carol and Jordan continued to read. Kyle noticed Carol widen her eyes and Jordan raise his eyebrows a few times. Otherwise, they were silent the whole time as they read. When they were both finished, Carol set down the leaf on the couch.

"First of all," Jordan said, "I'd like to confirm that you're being serious. This isn't a joke or anything? This note is telling the truth?"

"To be fair, I haven't tried the candies," Kyle admitted. "So I can't be absolutely certain that they work. But I have a good feeling."

Jordan nodded. "Where's the other set? The note mentioned four darker ones."

"Right here." Kyle held out the other bag. Jordan took it and looked it over.

"Yeah," he said. "These have something moving inside of them, too."

"This is from the thing you told me about," Carol said, openly exited. "The one from the street during the second Arceus."

Kyle nodded.

"And it just… sent you these?"

"Yeah. Using a Talonflame. It almost broke my window."

Jordan snorted.

"So this is why you're so sure of yourself," Carol said.

"Well, I was still pretty motivated before whatever that thing is decided to give me these things," Kyle said. "But yeah."

"'Whatever that thing is?'" Jordan asked. "Kyle, that thing literally called your Eevee its 'child,' included us in its letter, got another Pokemon to give it to you, and mentioned how it descended from the sky through the Arceus. I don't want to set anything in stone, but I'm pretty sure the literal god of Pokemon is trying to communicate with you."

Kyle chuckled. He had thought about what Jordan was saying before, but it had never really hit him hard. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You guess so?" Carol asked, her jaw dropping. "That's all you can say when you have something like this? Do you know how much the CPP would give you for this?"

Kyle paused. He hadn't thought of that. But if he gave them to the CPP now, he couldn't bring down Team Dominion, and if he took down Team Dominion, he'd get paid anyway. It was a win-win.

"I'll still get money for getting rid of Team Dominion," Kyle said. "And I can always just give them the note when we're finished with that."

Carol sighed.

"I'd also like to point out that it recommended me because it thinks I'm powerful," Jordan said proudly. "So I'd like some respect now and in the future."

Kyle laughed. "Hey, don't forget that it sent me the note."

Jordan waved his hand. "Details, details," then he gave a playful smirk to Kyle, who returned it.

"Alright," Carol said.

Kyle turned towards her. "Alright…?"

"Alright, I'll help you," Carol clarified.

Kyle's spirits rose instantly. "Really? You changed your mind?"

"Yeah," she said as she waved the leaf note in the air. "The glowing letters are enough for me to believe this is really important. I also wouldn't want to work against the," she made a gesture in Jordan's direction, "god of Pokemon."

Kyle grinned.

"But don't you dare take this for granted!" Carol said suddenly, pointing at Kyle. "You owe me big after it's all over."

Kyle held up his hands in defense. "Alright, alright," he said, chuckling.

Jordan looked between the two of them, then shook his head.

"What?" Kyle demanded when he noticed.

"Nothing," Jordan said, waving him off. "Anyway, I have a feeling that this is going to be really, really fun."

"So long as that piece of crap's report doesn't hurt us."